The Wolfdog's Story
by diesel weasel
Summary: Balto comes forward to do something he should have done a long time ago, tell his friends and family his FULL story. Part 1
1. The gathering

**My first Balto Fanfic R&R**

It was a cold night in the town of Nome, but this was not unusual as many nights were so. The humans of Nome had all gathered to different houses to stay up late at night to celebrate the New Year. This served as a distraction for the majority of the dogs of Nome to gather in the boiler room.

While several dogs could usually be found in the boiler room at one point or another in the day, today it was packed with dogs who had gathered around. Word had spread for a week about a story that would be told tonight, one that has never been told before now, the _full_ story of Nome's hero during its darkest hour.

By the boiler which all the dogs faced were six dogs who formed a semi-circle around the boiler itself, five were red and white husky's, the other looked more wolf than dog. Everyone was sitting, everyone was quiet.

The door opened suddenly and through the snow of the dark winter night two dark shapes immerged from the night, the first appeared to be a wolf. He strides to the boiler with pride and strength; even at his old age not one male had the stones to challenge him. He was brown with silver fur streaking over his body, his muscles sprouted from his body, lean and still rock hard from never ending use. But what was most striking of all was his golden/hazel eyes that saw _everything_. In his mouth he carried a leather pouch and moved as steady as smoke to the boiler, making not one noise.

The other dog who accompanied him was a red and white husky, despite her age she was still beautiful and the younger males could only guess of her beauty during her prime, she moved with much pride and dignity beside her mate while she made little noise while they padded onto their destination, the center of the room.

Once there the wolfdog and his mate acknowledged their children, most of who was well known one way or another, but their reputations combined could not hold a candle to their father as is. And now he was here now, with a story without a doubt in anyone's mind would be just as if not greater than his exploits to get the medicine back to Nome in 1925.

The old wolfdog turned and sat down and said to the room "today I am here to tell you a story no dog or wolf or any living being has been told before, realize the reason this is so is because it is not easy telling, nor at times will it be easy listening."

He paused and looked out at the room, though not for the first time in his long life he had an entire crowds undivided attention, then he was exhausted and wasn't expected to say anything because he had done good and selfless deed when he didn't need to, now here he was to tell a story no one else alive had heard, not Boris, not even his _mate_.

"I have few memories of my puppyhood with my mother other than her warm body, her soothing voice. My first memories of my life will be shown to you now" with that he turned to the boiler and tossed the pouch in. smoke began to rise from the vents of the boiler but gave no odor. Then the smoke began to take shape, in midair a shadow of a wolf was running at full speed, and in her mouth was a shadow of a month old cub.


	2. The run

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

The white she-wolf was running as fast as she could, it was snowing lightly out over the Alaskan landscape and the trees past by in a blur. Several shots rang out in the distance and the she-wolf instinctively picked up the pace out of fear for her pup and herself.

It was not an ideal way for her to wake up. It was predawn, some wolves may have been up to hunt by themselves, the last kill the pack made was two days ago so the pack would not have to go hunting soon, then there was the sound of dogs barking.

This was not unusual because during early spring several dog sled teams would pass within hearing distance of the packs den during spring. But this was different; the barking was getting louder which could only mean one thing, the dogs were getting closer and where there are dogs generally man is close behind and there was only one reason why man would be foolish enough to come near wolves. The white she-wolf had heard the stories and she knew there was only one thing she could do, pick up her only surviving cub from her most recent litter and she left the rest of her pack in the den to the shelter of the deep woods.

And so she ran, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her with her son in her mouth shaking with fear in not knowing what was going on, only his scared mother and barks, growls, whimpers and gunshots in the distance. Ten minutes went by and no more noise came from behind her, it was not more than five minutes later that she heard a howl, it was not one of her pack that was howling no, it was the howl of a dog, a hound, they had her scent.

She knew this area as good as any wolf and better than most dogs, she slightly altered her course and soon found what she was looking for, a large stream which had thawed out by now in spring. It was so cold she felt the icy cold water bite and penetrate through her thick coat. Her pup had not had it so bad as she lifted her head up to keep him from getting wet.

It was an old trick she heard about that the water could help throw off their scent. Some hundred yards upriver she was something she had been praying for, a patch of mud by the water front. She put her pup down and quickly began vigorously rolling while her pup looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Roll in the mud now Balto we don't have much time!"

Balto soon followed suit though still confused as to why she insisted on doing this. After a few more seconds she suddenly stopped and grabbed Balto in mid roll and continued downstream where the woods gradually got thicker. After another ten minutes of running in the stream she found what she had been searching for. Near the banks was a large patch of grass and hidden by the tall grass was a den dug in the ground.

It had belonged to a friend of hers by the name of Denali, a raccoon who found the abandoned skunk den some years back and used it whenever the fishing in the stream was good. She quickly deposited Balto in the den, not surprised to find it empty. She prayed to the spirits he would find him if she never returned.

"Now stay here until I get back, and no buts!" she said. She quickly nuzzled him then she proceeded with washing most off the mud off her then continued her journey cutting north. She could go several days and nights without rest, food and little drink. But Balto couldn't. He could sleep until she got back, it didn't matter, and his scent was hidden so the dogs and hunter wouldn't find him. If he was thirsty the stream was close. But due to the way he shacked when she left she bet he wouldn't leave the den today. But as for food, well he no longer nursed but she hoped his will to obey her mother's orders would keep him there until she returned.

But she would keep traveling for another day even if she never heard another dog or human today, then she would take a different route back to the den

"I hope Denali finds him" she whispered, but Denali would never find Balto, he died of eating rotten food during the winter.


	3. Realization

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

It had been the longest night of his life. The little gray pup sat in the small den waiting for his mother to return. Half an hour had passed since his mother left him when a man had come through with three dogs sniffing the air. These were the first live creatures he ever saw that were bigger than himself and not a wolf.

The dogs bared few resemblances to a wolf, but they were smaller, had different facial features than the average wolf. But what he found most striking was it seemed the HUMAN was their alpha. He looked stronger than the dogs, which was not saying much in Baltos position because they looked weaker than a grown wolf.

Another thing that Balto couldn't help but fail to understand is why these dogs would choose this human their leader is because he was so noisy! He seemed to step on every dry twig and dead leaf that was in his path, like he deliberately was trying to make his presence known.

But deep in Baltos mind he couldn't help but think that he was underestimating this human right now. No spices could survive long by making your presence known to everyone unless you were confident that you could overcome all obstacles set before you. Thus in cockiness cast aside caution.

So what is it that makes you special? Balto thought, he should have the same strength as any other animal his size. But no claws like a lynx, no massive canines like a wolf. Perhaps his ability to stand upright like a bear? Because he is tall and can see all he doesn't need to be listening or smelling for dangers assuming he wasn't already?

Different parts of him were different colors, that couldn't be healthy unless that was his fur pattern in which case humans just became stranger in this pups mind. But then from the security of his den hidden by tall grass he had saw a gray stick that he held. Perhaps that was the reasons? Regardless he had enough to dwell on until his mother could return to answer his questions.

Fearing she wouldn't return tonight he braced himself for a cold night without his mother's warmth.

The third day had come since his mother and he fled the den. He knew that with the fear his mother was going through she would only travel at night. Personally he was curious about the wolves of his pack and so betting that if they still lived in the den perhaps one of them could take care of him until she returned.

Betting she wouldn't come in broad daylight the pup set off at a trot. Moving from bush to bush, shadow to shadow like a ghost of the forest, after more than two hours of traveling he started to see familiar sights until he came to the cave entrance. There was not a soul here, it was deathly quiet.

Balto moved slowly through the clearing to the cave, evidence of conflict was everywhere. A patch of blood here, a patch of fur there, dirt was thrown around everywhere like overgrown pups were wrestling in the dirt. He then came across something he had never seen before. It was yellow looking, with a gleam coming off it he had only ever seen with water and it was round like a stone.

Balto had never seen such a strange, no bizarre object in all of his life. And he knew the den and the clearing and all within it. How is it he has never seen such a thing before? Was it brought here by the human and the dog? And if so why would they leave it here considering the death that they brought here.

He sniffed it curiously and he found it had an odor which he could not identify. Then he tasted it and while it was cold and hard and did not have a pleasant flavor to it he didn't know what to think but by seeing all he needed to see he had decided to get back to the den before sunset.

It was midafternoon when he returned to the den and the second he did he searched the area for a sign she had been in the area lately, her scent or a paw print. But nothing came up. Night came around and decided to do one of the riskiest things of his life. He howled

It was a long howl that rang through the surrounding forest of this valley, a sad sound looking for someone. Longing for the person who made him feel safe and secure in the cold world where only the strong survived. But no one survived to adulthood without an adults guidance, plain and simple.

One thing became clear to Balto; his mother was either dead or out of the valley, because no one answered his call. He realized that if he was to survive he would have to strike out on his own, at least for the time being. And he was sure as anything on this planet going to leave signs for his mother if she ever retuned the direction he was going.

The downstream was calling his name, and in his younger days the old wolves of the pack spoke of a great lake that you couldn't see the other side. A great body of water though beautiful to look at was unsafe to drink from. They always encouraged wolves that had never seen it to trek out and take the pilgrimage. Such stories had always captivated Balto so know he headed into an unknown future to his destiny.

**Ok not even joking but this only took me an hour to type up off the top of my head, now a feel like a lazy ass and could have uploaded more chapters, oh well see you soon!**


	4. The Lone Cub

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Balto had been on the move for more than a week now and by now he had admit his respect for lone wolfs have increased tenfold. How any canine could survive on their own without the help of their pack for more than a month was beyond his comprehension. Then again he was still a pup and had yet to reach his full potential

He had been told by his mother that they were fortunate to be the only pack in their valley and thus had little competition for food. But he was no longer in the valley of his birth; he was in a strange new valley with different sights and smells, and wolves.

He would never forget his first encounter with another pack. They were smaller than his last pack, but they were just as efficient at bringing down the moose just like any other. Patient, observant, and deadly. Balto calmly sat down on the sidelines near the edge of the woods knowing once they had eaten their fill they would talk to him if he could just keep his cool and not over react.

Sure enough after the alphas had eaten their fill the elder wolves came next and once they had sated their hunger, but they had wisely decided observed their surroundings before lying down to nap like their leaders. And old gray grizzly wolf with one eye spotted him and he pricked his ears up with interest.

From where Balto stood he could not here what he said but now he had the entire packs attention. The pack and Balto just stared at each other waiting to see who would make the first move. Then the alpha male and the elder wolf that had spotted him slowly began to move toward him. The alpha looking like Balto was an annoyance and just wanted to return to his nap.

But the elder looked at Balto with curiosity as to why a young pup was out on his own. The rest on the pack focused not on Balto but the area surrounding him as if expecting it to be a trick of some sort of an ambush.

"Who are you and why are you here?" the alpha asked rather rudely

"I am Balto, son of Aniu." Balto replied, this information didn't seem to mean anything to the alpha but the old wolfs eyes widened at the mention of his mother's name.

"And I am here because I have reason to believe that my mother is dead, and for the past few I have traveled until my feet are sore hoping to find a temporary place of sanctuary until I either find my mother alive or settle down someplace else." continued Balto

It had taken most of his inner strength to sound professional like an adult instead of lower himself and shake and whimper "my mom's dead, please help me" which he really felt like doing in front of the strong wolf in front of him.

He just stared at Balto for an few seconds then he must of smelled something because it became clear by looking at his face whatever he smelled now was the center of his thought.

"I am sorry for your loss but we cannot afford to feed other _wolf_ pup right now, and you are obviously incapable of helping out, I'm sorry but it is not our problem." he said through gritted teeth like it pained him to be so nice then turned and left without another would but the message was clear **"and don't make me chase you off because don't think I wouldn't"**

Not knowing what had completely transpired I looked at the old wolf still sitting next to me and I raised an eyebrow.

The old wolf looked down and sighed and said "You may or may not know this but there is dog's blood within you, most wolves leave dogs alone and when he smelled the hint of dog odor you give off your chances here dropped to none." he said politely

"Is there anything you can do?" I asked hopping to be with someone and not have to live off berries and nuts anymore.

"If you keep heading down stream you will find a human pack, A mile further down river lives an old human and his old dog, I am friends of both and they will shelter you until you are strong enough to survive on your own." he said slowly and deliberately so Balto wouldn't forget anything

"Thank you but before I leave may I know your name? Balto asked

He chuckled and replied "My name is Sitka, and I am your mother's uncle." He said with a smile.

"Family looks out for each other, we will probably meet again, farewell Balto." and he left to return to his pack.

Balto turned to continue head downriver, thinking about what had just transpired before my eyes


	5. The village

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Balto had continued his journey for another day until he caught whiff of wood smoke. His first reaction was there was a forest fire in the area so he climbed into the river which he walked beside this whole time for safety for the yet unseen threat.

But odd enough nothing happened, there was no sound of blazing wildfire in the area, and the small animals in the area were not heading away from the fire. What was odd was that Balto had not seen nor heard nor smelled anything larger than a raccoon for the last mile. Perhaps I am getting closer to the humans den. Balto pondered.

The smell was coming from further downstream and it according to Sitka's instructions they were supposed to be in that general direction. With great fear in what was to come the helpless young pup continued on.

Within minutes he began to hear human noises, and Balto could see further downstream what for lack of better words in the pups mind a human _group_. The area which the human occupied had a cluster of what looked to be oddly shaped mounds no larger than a young tree. It was like they preferred those strange lumps rising from the grounds to make their dens as opposed to making several or one big one off the side of a mountain.

What was perhaps the strangest thing in the young pups mind about this human settlement was the fact they had small fires within their groups but they didn't panic or run away, even the _dogs_ didn't seem to mind them. Had the human been able harness and control fire? The young pup thought.

"What is wrong with these species, come to think of it what is right with them? If I learn they can shed their ugly fur coats like a snake I don't think I will never understand humans, EVER." The pup mumbled before crossing the stream and stayed well out of the human's perimeter.

Balto continued heading downstream but he was now plagued with hunger and between his stomach and his sore feet he was hoping he found whatever Sitka sent him to find or else we would be in trouble fast.

Towards the end of the day Balto saw another human mound with a small fire by the entrance. By now his legs were beginning to wobble with exhaustion and his vision was fading too, smells were subdued and his hearing was just about the last thing on his mind.

Fifty feet away from the mound and on the edge of the clearing Baltos legs finally gave away and he stumbled to the ground with a grunt. His vision was flickering and Balto knew he was about to pass out when he saw a large canine looming over him.

"Help, hungry" before he passed out cold. The large dog sniffed Balto then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and carried him to his master's home.


	6. A shamans wolfdog

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Baltos senses were slowly returning to him, first thing his mind registered was his mother wasn't beside him, and then he realized his mother is gone. He then noticed his hunger which he realized had to be sated soon. But a new smell entered his nostrils. He opened his eyes to see a slab of moose meat in front of him.

Balto slowly raised his head to begin feasting on the meat when he realized another being was in his presence. He slowly looked up to see a red wolf with yellow eyes like himself across from him sitting and looking at Balto with an amused look on his face.

"I would advise from eating too fast, no one is going to steal that from you and it will sit better in your stomach if you go slow." Said the red wolf in a deep husky voice.

Balto nodded and began to eat taking small bits but halfway through he became confident enough to take larger bites. It didn't take him more than ten minutes to finish then he sat up to address his savior.

"Are you the one who brought me here?" Balto asked and the red wolf nodded. "So where exactly is here?" Balto asked while taking in his surroundings. "We are outside my masters' home, several yards from where I found you."

Balto looked at him like he had grown a third head "Master?" he asked. "Yes my master is the shaman of the village you passed and I am his loyal companion." The red wolf said like it was an honor to say he belonged with the human.

"So you are a dog?" Balto asked. "I am a wolf dog same as you are." The red wolf dog said with a smile. "You smelled very much so like a wolf when a found you but I could detect something else and I realized we are much the same."

Balto nodded and thought for a moment before saying "Do you know a wolf named Sitka? He was the one who sent me here, but I don't know why so I am hoping you have answers."

"I know him, we are good friends. He probably smelled the dog in you and sent you here, you better tell me your whole story before I can give you much more answers though" he said.

And so Balto told him the story of how he had been separated by his mother and was traveling to the great water to the west while leaving his mother hints toward his direction.

He nodded before saying "We wolfdogs are a rare breed, most live their lives as outcasts but a special few like myself become ambassadors between wolves and dogs and sometimes wolves and humans. It is my option that destiny wants you to go west to the great waters, but before you go know that you have a long road ahead of you, wolves and dogs will chase you and hurt you on sight as will humans. An outcast's road is a lonely road for sure. But stay pure of heart and the spirits will reward you for your suffering tenfold."

Balto nodded before saying "but I am still a pup, I still need to be raised into an adult before I venture out again." Balto said hopping the strong looking wolfdog would agree to help raise him.

"True, keep heading west down the stream until you come across a huge human settlement which they call Nome, on the outskirts you will find a snow goose named Boris who is an outcast. Chances are he is doing nothing better so he will help raise you to not only survive but thrive as an outcast till your destiny wants you." The wolfdog said

"What does a snow goose know about raising a wolf or a dog?" Balto asked.

"Enough that you will be better off with him than without him" he said

Balto got up and nodded his thanks "Before I go may know your name should I visit again?" he asked.

The wolfdog smiled and said "My master named me 'Yellow Eyes' you?

"Balto"

"Well fare well then Balto" and with that Balto got up and left at a trot without another word.


	7. Nome

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Balto stood at the forests edge looking at the human settlement several hundred yards away from him. He had simply hadn't seen anything like this his entire life. The human settlement he had found two days prior was one thing. There were not even two dozen humans there, but this was massive, huge and truth be told rather intimidating to the young pup.

Balto started to understand several things by now, with their tools which gave them power, they would cut any tree down they like, cut it several more times then make a home out of it. Sort of like a beavers lodge he reasoned except a couple hundred times bigger and the fact there were hundreds of them on top of that made this situation no less scary.

The smell of smoke was coming from these lodges and so was various other smells, like the essence of wood and other foods that the human prepared. Balto decided that if he was going to meet this Boris character he should do so with a more full stomach. Normally the amount of food Yellow Eyes gave him would sate his hunger for a week if he were back at his den but three days had pasted since the meal, three days of traveling 20 hours a day, he need food.

He slowly started moving from his hiding place behind the bush and made a mad dash to a dark looking space between two lodges. Once he had caught his breath and confident his presence has gone unnoticed by the many dwellers of this place he continued to move from shadow to shadow like a ghost, not making any noise following his nose for any possible food source.

After a while Balto soon learned via exploration that there was a wide gap in the town which he didn't feel comfortable crossing in broad daylight. So far much to his disappointment there were not many opportunities for food that had come across his path yet. Then a noise distracted him in his quest for food. It was a barking noise like from a dog, thing was it sounded like a half dozen dogs and he began to notice humans gathering toward the main street.

He quickly hid behind a barrel to get a better view at what was going on. Then several dogs darted around the corner at breakneck speeds pulling a human and what looked to Balto a moose's shoulder, given the size and color. While whatever humans made captivated his interest it did not right now, right now his undivided attention was on the sled dogs. They must have been working at that pace for a while now because they looked rather tired but they looked like they could hold that pace for hours longer, and they probably could he reasoned.

This was, Balto thought, the most wolf like behavior he had ever seen in a dog. Granted he knew by now many dogs in this area looked like wolves and could even be dismissed as a wolf from a distance. But up to this point in time this was a behavior that both wolves and their dog cousins seemed to share, the fact that they work together as a team to get the job done. Granted wolves worked together for survival and dogs worked for their humans but it was the principle that mattered here in Balto's option.

If no wolf pack could ever accept Balto nor would any wolf female wish to be his mate, if Balto had to forever live in the dogs world he wished to have that duty of working together as a team. Then Balto realized that he was getting way too far ahead of himself and decided to take advantage of the humans and dogs big distraction to cross the street hopefully unnoticed. Balto figured it would do him no good to try to lower himself in broad daylight because if anyone saw him it would raise suspicions, but then he had dog blood in him so if he acted like a normal dog pup maybe he would be mistaken for one and could go on his way.

The second he got to the other side he quickly smelled for food but nothing came up, disgruntled he figured he might as well try to find Boris but Yellow Eyes description of where he lived exactly had been fairly vague to be sure. Perhaps if he asked a dog he/she would help, he was part dog after all.

He peeked from the alley again hoping to see a lone dog but no such luck; all the humans and dogs seemed to gather around the team, but not too far away from him there was a small crate and coming from the crate were barking noises, like the barking noises the alphas pups made back at the den. He quickly made his way to the crate and when he got on his hind legs to peer inside he saw four red and white pups his age playing around.

"Hello" he said sheepishly but he was heard and all the pups stopped playing and gathered around him as he was now the center of his attention. Then there came a storm of questions from the pups. "Who are you?" "Where did you come from?" "What's your name?" "Your eyes are so cool" Balto was quickly overwhelmed by the questions and took a step back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down a little now one at a time please." The dogs paused before one asked "what's your name?" "Balto, yours?" "Luke, Kristina, James, Jenna" the pups said proudly then James continued.

"So who's your owner, are you new to the area?" Balto paused at the queer thought of anyone actually _owning_ him but answered. "I have no owner and my mother is gone" the dogs then suddenly looked sorry for him but Jenna moved over to him piped in quickly "I'm sorry but it's Ok, we are here now to get adopted by humans, don't worry you stay with us you will get adopted in no time."

"Really?" Balto asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yes really, the human children love cute pups; you won't be here more than a few hours. Want to play" she asked playfully, assuming the stance. Balto pondered a few more seconds before saying "Sorry, maybe some other time but my relative said there was a goose living here who could help me named Boris, could you help me?" Jenna looked a little disappointed as well as the others but Luke said "we don't know his name but there is a loud Russian goose who lives on a shipwrecked boat on the outskirts."

"That's probably him; he said, he lived on the outskirts, where can I find this boat?" Balto said not knowing what a boat looks like, chances are another man made deal. "It's down on the beach" Kristina nodded her head in a south western direction. "Thanks, I will be sure to visit you if I ever settle down." Balto said jumping out of the crate right into a big red and white female dog.

"James how many times must I tell you…" she started when she saw not her son but what looked to be a wolf cub. "WOLF" she screamed at the top of her lungs and Balto shot into the alley's at full speed and soon found several dogs chasing him. Balto ran from alley to alley until he meet a dead end. But there was a hole in the wall that lead into the warehouse and he made it in none too soon. As he made it in dogs snapping at the small hole Balto quickly took stock. That was the only way in or out that he knew of so he quickly looked for sunlight like he would any den.

Then at the top of a pile of crates he saw a window and quickly scaled the crates and pushed the window open finding himself on the rooftops. Balto looked over the sea of rooftops to the southwest where he saw the beaches and a large brown shape on the sand. Balto started to move from rooftop to rooftop but saw his actions went noticed by the dogs below and started to follow him on the ground.

He began to feel his blood rush being up this high and in such danger waiting below him. He quickly began to pick up the pace as he ran from roof top to roof top, sliding down shingles to jump to lower houses. But he realized he had to get rid of the dogs soon and soon found what he was looking for, a dead end in the alleys. They had been running full bore to keep up with the pup trying to be the first to maul him should he ever fall down that while they were so focused on him up above they never saw the dead end coming and ran into the wall head first collapsing in shock.

The pup above them was in hysterics and when he had gotten ahold of himself he moved on southwest via rooftop for his journey to continue.


	8. Boris

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Balto walked on the rolling hills as he thought about what had just happened. "Why did they chase me? Was it because she yelled wolf? I wasn't doing anything wrong; I just was passing through and stopped to get directions. What is it dogs have against wolves? It can't be all dogs; if my parents were happily mated it must be something, if only I knew what?"

This time spring Balto was enjoying looking out to the sea, its salty scent, the vastness of it, its sheer size dumbfounded the pup. He was tempted for a moment to get closer and see what it tasted like, but he decided that due to the salty smell it would taste more like that than regular water. He moved on closer to the boat and he soon realized it was about the size of a small human's home from Nome.

As he got closer he saw there was no opening around the walls of the boat, then he saw a ramp and he climbed up to the deck of the boat. When he got onboard he heard a strange humming noise and he saw on the far side of the deck goose humming a joyful tune while holding another human tool and moving it back and forth across the deck. "Human nature must have rubbed off on him" Balto reasoned.

Balto calmly seated himself by the entrance of the boat before timidly saying "uh, hello?" Boris jumped two feet in the air in fright knocking over a bucket full of water across the deck. "Who goes there?!" the Russian goose asked huskily using the mop to defend himself against attackers, "No one sneaks up on old Boris Goosinov without getting a good…" he stopped in mid-sentence to see that he was about to teach a young pup some very bad words.

Boris took a few seconds to regain his composure before continuing in a nicer tone of voice for his young startled guest. "Well hello there, can I help you with something?" he asked nervously, it wasn't everyday ANYTHING wolf related came to him these days. Balto asked calmly "Are you a friend of Yellow Eyes the wolfdog?" Boris chuckled before saying "Ah yes, Yellow Eyes and I are inseparable _comrades." _He paused for a brief second before worry came down on his face.

"Is something wrong with Yellow Eyes that I should know about?" the goose asked. Balto paused before answering, "No, Yellow Eyes is fine but something in my life has come up and with me being his kin he told me to seek you out and here I am." At this Boris raised an eyebrow, wolves more than any other creature, for them blood was MUCH thicker than water.

"I see, and what is wrong that you need old Boris's help?" the old goose asked hesitantly. The pup looked down, sorrow deep in his face when he answered "my mother and I were separated, I am both dog and wolf so Sitka couldn't get me into his pack, he told me to find Yellow Eyes, I found him and he noticed that destiny was 'calling me' I guess to here, he said you could help, that you yourself were an outcast."

Boris nodded and sighed "yes I am an outcast, a goose does not stay in the flock for too long if he is afraid of heights, but it is ok living here I guess." He said with a shrug before continuing "so tell me boy shtick, what makes you think you are outcast as well?" Balto looked down before saying, I am both a dog and a wolf I guess and neither one will accept me and truthfully I don't know why." Balto said, feeling great he can let out his frustration and confusion.

"Ah, now I see why Yellow Eyes sent you here." He said with a grin on his face, he walked over to Balto and put his wing around his shoulder trying to comfort the young confused pup. "Listen to old Boris Balto; being half and half makes you a great person because you can fully understand to peoples and cultures because you are a part of both, the problem is that one group doesn't fully understand the other so by nature they fail to get along."

Balto just shook his head, mind feeling quite numb, but it felt at least Boris though he was special. "What am I to do Boris? Eyes says the best half breeds become ambassadors between both their races, but how can I do that?" Boris thought about that for a moment before answering "you must earn the respect of both races, but fully siding with none, at least on the inside."

Balto thought about this for a moment before saying "well I have an idea on how to earn the wolves respect, I must become strong and become a great hunter and other alpha material. But how to get the dogs respect I don't know. I went inside the human's town today and now I don't think even the pups will give me the time of day."

Again Boris had to think carefully about this for a moment and said "it isn't the dogs you need to get on you good side right away, it's the humans!" he cried triumphantly like he finished solving a difficult puzzle. "If you get on the dog's good side first then you need to get on the humans good side, but if you get on the humans good side first chances are they will have you interact with their dogs, with or without their consent, chances are in all of the town one dog will be willing to put up with you and once you have the ice broken others will realize you're not a bloodthirsty wolf like they were raised to believe!"

Balto pondered what the goose had just said for a few seconds and nodded his head "this is great and all but here is the problem, I don't know the first thing about humans much less how to be in good relations with them." Balto said, hoping Boris would have an answer otherwise they were back to square one.

"Balto, you must become what humans love and admire most, and what humans love and admire most are hero's!" he exclaimed triumphantly. Then pulled Balto in closer to tell him his game plan.

"Now Balto humans refer to their hero's as knights, now there are three types of knights, the first is a knight in shining armor, fate has set before him a chance to be a hero, especially for the person he saved or protected, these are most of humans 'knights'. The second is a white knight, this person does good deed after good deed, from birth everyone likes him and he is a role model to everyone. The last is a black night, this person his hated because he is different, he doesn't follow the rules of society, some have no rules at all, but that's what makes them special, they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, to be an outcast, they don't have anything to hold them back. Because while everyone has their limits, even the white knight, someone has to get it done, this is what a black night is; this is what you must become if you wish to have the humans trust you."

Balto pondered about this for several minutes before saying "but if I don't belong in society how will humans trust me whether I do good deeds or not?" Boris nodded, expecting this question to come. "Because you will wait in the shadows, see and not be seen, then wait till someone needs help, wait for the opportune moment to strike, the leave. Most people you save or rescue will not have time to see what or who saved them with the exception of blurry memories and clues, after several deeds they will see that you have a good heart despite your looks and will willingly accept you." He said.

"I suppose you are right, can you help me?" Balto asked. "Of course." Boris answered, "I will try to teach you but mostly test you on various skills, but stealth and pinpoint precision is what we need to focus on most." Balto nodded, this was a lot to take in for one pup on one day.

**A/N: For that last part yes I had a **_**little**_** inspiration from the Dark Knight movies. It seemed good in my head so here it is.**


	9. muk and luk

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Balto was darting dodging and attacking as quickly as he could, Boris had decided that it would be in Balto's best interest if he started his training ASAP. As a result for the first three hours Boris had Balto move from one end of the boat to the other, slipping in the shadows until he reached his 'target' whether it was a bucket or a small crate, Boris would sometimes be looking in his direction other times he looked the other way but using his peripheral vision to spot any movement.

Should Boris catch even a gimps at one strand of fur or hear a board creak ever so slightly he would immediately have him try it again from the top. But now what Boris was keen on teaching him was a one on one confrontation, in other words, he would using the head of his mop to 'attack' Balto as if it were the head of a dog. The aim of this exercise was to avoid the mops head and be able to position himself so he could leap in and grab ahold of where the handle met the mop head and wrestle it out of Boris's grasp. But Boris had quicker reflexes than Balto previously thought.

Boris had yet to ever be able to pin down Balto with the mops head but he had high expectations for Balto, if he failed to wrestle the mop out of his grasp within 30 seconds they would immediately start another match. By now both opponents were breathing heavily being they were in their eighth match of the evening when Balto finally managed to trick Boris by pouncing in high off a crate like he was going to go for the handle from above when he had himself land short, skidding across the board before Boris could bring the mop head down on him Balto grabbed the handle and with a surge of strength ripped it from Boris's grasp.

Boris grinned approvingly at the young pup's progress; he had spent several years with Yellow Eyes and as a friend helped him with his exploits with wolves. Boris had learned a thing or two by watching the wolves fighting techniques. Much more elaborate and deadly than a dogs bark, growl and blindly attack, sure wolves growled to intimidate, but they circled each other, looked for and exploited weaknesses.

Sure Balto had a long way to go before he let him go back to Nome by himself, but Boris chuckled as he thought of how deadly the wolfdog could be at this training rate, in his prime Balto could be the best fighting canine in a thousand mile radius, especially if he could learn to use and harness his wolf rage, but the matches he and Boris done were not intense enough for Balto to let his rage loose.

Boris just shook his head and gave Balto a good natured pat on the back for a job well done; he then went to the nearby barrel and offered Balto a fish for his hard work. Balto gratefully accepted the food and began to eat the fish at a rapid pace; Boris himself was about to start eating when he could've sworn he heard something odd in the distance. He turned to Balto whose big wolf ears were swiveling like radars trying to lock in on something, he looked at Boris with slight worry in his face and Boris said "I hear it too."

With a quick thrust of his wings Boris was perched on the railing and Balto was half a heartbeat behind him, head poking over the railing and his paws were on the railing, Balto pushed his hind legs up so he could get a better view. Much to their surprise and maybe a little dismay there was a lone polar bear cub going up and down the beach crying and moaning in fright for help. The two left the boat to what the matter was.

When they were no more than several yards away from the cub he cried "oh please you must help us please!" the goose nodded and said "what's the problem?" the cub the ran down the beach the way he came and shouted over his shoulders "follow me!" Balto and Boris gave each other a glance that spoke volumes _is following a polar bear cub to a hurt polar bear with a mother in the area really the best idea?_ But Boris steadied his shoulders and nodded and he and Balto took off in hot pursuit after the polar bear cub.

After a half an hour at a full run the three reached what looked to be another two polar bears on the beach, and the larger of the two were covered in red spots. As Boris came within reach of the mother bear he took full stock of the situation. She was heavily mauled, her crimson blood staining her snow white fur. She had at least two life threatening gouges on her hunches and a dozen other wounds. Boris ran through his mind of everything he could do.

He couldn't cauterize them without fire, the pain would likely kill her or make her pass out anyway, he heard salt in wounds made wounds heal faster and was half tempted to throw her in the sea and let it work magic while he could desperately search for healing herbs, even more tempted more still to send Balto to get Yellow Eyes the shaman to come and work his magic. But his realism retuned and he realized anything he did now would all be in vain. She had simply lost too much blood.

She weakly lifted her head and when she noticed Boris being the most senior and responsible here she stared him down and said in a low voice "these are my sons, I gave my life for them, _please _look after them." Boris thought about it long and hard, in one day he went from one outcast to now potentially the leader of a group of misfits. He nodded his head and at least decided to let the dieing bear have peace before she pasted away.

"I will do what I can" Boris said. The mother bear nodded her thanks than turned her attention to here now bawling cubs and she nuzzled her sons and they nuzzled back with every essence in their being. The gray clouds overhead in the falling light let out a low rumble and it started raining, the mother bear laid her head back in the sand and the life started to leave her eyes. Boris put a wing around each shoulder as they sobbed endlessly in the night and Boris tilted his down in silent respect for the brave fallen mother, Balto raised his head and let out a long sad howl, singing to the raining heavens, to look after the mother who had just left this world to the spirit world to take care of her and to look out for the cubs she had died for, she earned that much.


	10. A Promise

**Disclaimer: I don't own Balto, I wish I did, but I don't. R&R**

Balto and Boris were on the roofs of Nome moving from shadow to shadow, Boris realized quickly that the two shell shocked cubs would need food when their appetite retuned to them whenever they finished mourning. Boris's fish supply simply wouldn't last long, they needed meat. To Boris the solution was obvious; they would have to get scraps from the butcher.

But there was a slight problem, the scraps the town's butcher didn't use were made into a 'stew' for lack of better words called slump. And this was reserved for the sled dogs and them sled dogs only who seemed to thrive off the stuff. Boris decided to grab as much as he could before they were made into the gruesome stew then made a run for it. He prayed for the day that the bears would be big enough to hunt for their own food.

The two split up off the roofs, Boris was poised over and open window to the butchery, and all he had to do is wait for Balto to do his job.

Balto's job was simple, make a distraction for Boris; he had to draw the butcher out for several seconds for Boris to get his job done. Balto slowly descended from the roof tops as he worked up a game plan.

When he reached the bottom he immediately moved back to the shadows, Balto Made his way to the Butchers entrance with what can only be called a wolfish grin on his face. Without making a sound he slowly pushed the door open with his nose, and glided in and hid behind one of the butcher's counters, he saw the man humming and he was cutting and slicing various sections of meat Balto couldn't identify from where he was sitting.

He had two options in his mind and decided he might as well start off with the more farfetched one. Balto pushed himself into the broad daylight that was coming from the window and sat right underneath a trail of sausages that were dangling from the counter. Then he whined loud enough to get the butchers attention.

To be fair with the butcher, there were only so many ways one sane butcher could handle having a wolf cub in a meat house. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he said while slashing at the cub with his cleaver. But Balto was already way ahead of him, the second his and started to go back he jumped up, grabbed the meat and ran out to the doorway and stopped, out of knife range the butcher growled as the pup took a playful stance with the meat in his mouth.

With his patience gone thin he ran forward in attempt to at least salvage as much meat from the pup as possible but he shot out the door and with his great momentum he crashed through the door through the alley and hit the next building knocking him dizzy for a couple of seconds. Balto yipped playfully and once again took the stance of a pup who wished to play around. Feeling rage coming on he charged Balto brandishing his cleaver wildly, Blato lunged in to charge the butcher and when he brought his knife up Balto purposely tripped in mid step and skidded right between the butchers legs, problem is he kept skidding right into main street.

As Balto slowed to as stop people and dogs gasped at what they saw and Balto couldn't help but lower his head, ears flat against his skull and chuckled nervously. Suddenly a huge Black and white dog leapt into action, Balto would later realize it was the same lead dog as the sled team he saw come in. Balto dropped the meat and shot to the nearest alley in a dead sprint, Balto would later reflect it would have been wiser to choose a poorly lit alley but this was not the case.

The dog kept closing in on Balto and being there was no way to reach the safety of the roof tops Balto realized that the huge sled dog would be faster than him, but only o strait always, Balto knew he could turn on a dime but he was willing to bet he couldn't. when there was only a foot separating the two Balto at the last moment veered left, he gained some feet on the dog but he knew from now on he would no longer let a mistake like that get by again.

And so the chase continued, Balto would take every turn he could, usually only gaining a foot at a time until whenever he looked back he could no longer see the dog but he could hear he was still in pursuit. Balto looked forward again just in time to crash into something that gave a squeak in pain. Balto recovered at the same time as his victim and they looked into each other eyes for b brief moment and Balto realized he had crashed right into Jenna of all people!

Balto knew the dog was about to come around the corner, it was a miracle he hadn't already then he faced Jenna again and said "SH!" and jumped behind a stack of crates. The huge sled dog rounded the corner and didn't see the wolf runt he was looking for but a confused red and white pup. Regaining his composure he walked up to the pup and asked "have you seen a wolf run through here?" Jenna looked at him for a second then asked and Balto was shaking visibly from behind his stack of crates "what does a wolf look like?" disgruntled that it seems he didn't come through here and Balto was now long gone he answered Jenna as he walked away "you would know them if you saw one."

When he was out of sight Balto jumped out of his hiding place and let out a sigh of relief. He looked up at Jenna who was looking at him like he was the most interesting thing she had ever seen, and he probably was he realized. She looked at him for a few more seconds before asking "are you really a wolf?" there was curiosity in her eyes but Balto knew if he said the wrong thing that look could quickly turn to fear. Truthfully he didn't even want to know what kind of stories pups were told about wolves.

"My mom is a wolf but my dad was a regular dog like you, so I am half and half, I just look more wolf that dog." Then Jenna looked at him like he was the coolest thing ever. "Is that why your eyes are yellow?" "Perhaps, my mother's eyes were yellow and so was this other wolfdog I met." he answered. Then he looked at her and asked "why didn't you tell him where I was?" he asked her. She looked down then answered "because he and his son are big meanies, his son Steele keeps bullying me, and if he found you he would hurt you really bad."

Seeing the tears forming in his friends eyes he went up to her and warmly comforted her. "Hey don't worry, someday I will be strong enough and respected enough that no one can hurt me or you again" and he looked into here beautiful eyes and continued "and then we can play together until we drop dead tired." Jenna just looked at him like he was the most important being on earth and nuzzled his neck with her muzzle. "Stay safe, I will be back again another day."

With that he left her sitting in the alley way as he returned to Boris's home, no, HIS home now as well as Muk and Luk to continue his training.

Jenna just sat there looking at the young wolfdog who just promised her to become the greatest just for her. Slowly she began to lose color and then she was all gray and then she vanished.

The dogs at the boiler room just stood there awestruck at what just transpired above their heads, the shadow images and Balto's deep husky voice narrating the story.

He took a deep breath and looked at the crowd and their faces told them that they were looking at him with adoration and great respect. "and so that's how my story began, how I got here, for the next year and a half Boris continued my training until he felt it was safe enough to let me roam Nome during the night at my free will, when I was barely two years old I became Nome's silent Guardian of the night, cloaked by darkness, feared by all." And more smoke came from the boiler taking shape into a adolescent wolfdog, looking up.

**This is my longest story ever, both on and off , I will also continue my series as long as I get good reviews and positive feedback, catch the next story in this series 'Nome's Black Night' coming Soon!**


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